The laptop, the social media user and the false alarm in Taiwan over a Beijing ‘spy’

Persistent fears of mainland infiltration risk raising unnecessary suspicion and eroding public trust, analysts say

A false espionage alarm about a Taipei subway user has fuelled concerns that growing fears of Beijing are breeding unhealthy suspicion on the island and eroding public trust.

The controversy erupted after a social media user posted a photograph of a man holding a laptop on a Taipei Main Station metro platform on Saturday.

Seeing the words “2nd Theatre Photosynthesis System” appeared in simplified Chinese on the laptop’s screen, the social media user suspected that the man was a mainland Chinese spy on a mission.

The social media user reported the man to several government agencies, including the police, immigration authorities, the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau.

She warned that if information about passenger flows, surrounding facilities and public movements at Taipei Main Station were collected and analysed by Beijing, it could potentially be used to plan wartime attacks or disrupt transport.